AI; Savior of Modern Slavery ?

 


For many centuries, human nature has been evolved in every shape of human activities inclusive of family relationship, economic activities, sports & entertainment, science and health, etc. Engagement in economic activities has led to use of human labor by its nature, and same has been a vital part of the economy chain. 


We are reminded that, in the fleeting time we have on this Earth, what matters is not wealth, or status, or power, or fame, but rather how well we have loved and what small part we have played in making the lives of other people better.

----- Barack Obama -----


Human being is identified as the fundamental resource in economic activities as no product or service can be produced to the economy without interference of human hand or human thinking.

Behind every products or services of any organizations, there is a human mind, effort and man hours have been infused, hence every employer desire to equip its organization with skilled, talented, qualified human recourses.


Modern Slavery 


Simply, the modern slavery is where one-person controls another for profit by exploiting a human resource.

In a broader way, Modern slavery, refer to situations of exploitation that a person cannot refuse or cannot leave the work or job because of threats, violence, coercion, deception, or abuse of power (International Labor Organization (ILO) - 2022). 

Though the present world is now in 21st century, a tech world, yet seeing many slavery forms exists in every parts of the world despite its abolished by the laws.

Modern Slavery includes forced labor, child labor, human trafficking, and debt bonded labor, descent-based slavery, child slavery, forced marriage, Domestic servitude.  (ILO) 

Forced Labor - All work or service which exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily. (ILO , Forced Labor Convention, 1930 (No.29,19).

Child Slavery -  is a child exploited for third party profits gain. This could be child trafficking, child soldiers, child marriage and child domestic slavery.

Human Trafficking - The use of violence, threats or coercion to transport, recruit or harbor people in order to exploit them for purposes such as forced prostitution, labor, criminality, marriage or organ removal.

Debt bondage/bonded labor - People who ae trapped in debt are forced to work to pay off the debts.

Descent-based slavery (where people are born into slavery) - A very old form of slavery. People are treated as property and their “slave” status has been passed down to their generations.






While the global nations acknowledge the severity of the modern slavery, yet they are unable to measure the true scale of this problem as modern slavery is a hidden crime that often not reported or identified.

Scandals related to modern slavery in the supply chain can damage the reputation of the companies and would lead to less competitive in the business world; hence it is pivotal for supply chain managers or HR Managers to take necessary actions to prevent slave labor models.

Establishing a robust whistle-blowing mechanism, protecting rights of employees and using advance technology would add values in combating against modern slavery in the supply chain. It is utmost important to modern companies, HR managers to adapt in latest technologies and tech-tools to find, assess and prevent modern slavery.


Artificial Intelligence (AI) – The Battle Against Modern Slavery.

Modern slavery considered as a very complex issue in current global context, hence the technology usage is must to end this crisis in an effective manner.

Artificial Intelligence could be the perfect solution as it uses machine learning tools to identify the massive quantities of data in quick and effectively. This will allow compliance teams to tackle slavery and related crimes.

Advance Data analytical tools unearthed from AI, would help companies to detect such slavery risks in their supply chain. It can join the dots automatically to detect and flag potential cases of human trafficking and modern slavery.


How AI could Use  to prevent Modern Slavery ?


Improvise Due Diligence – Even present technology has loop holes as many criminals adopted with many methods to launder illegitimate funds while avoiding scrutiny law enforcement and company processes. Enhancing the due diligence of employees, especially in finance activities such as opening of bank accounts for salary, remittance methods of salary, will mitigate less paid or non-paid labor victims. 


Employment Vetting – It is the screening process of checking background and verifying the information of existing or new employees. This way company can prevent any criminals involve inside the company or outside the company.


Investigations – Each investigations of complex abuses will be different according to the situation and scale of the abuse. A comprehensive planning, inter-agency working, and attention to the welfare needs to be conducted. This needs special skilled persons. Also investigations are time consuming. Using AI tools would fast track and would perfectly analysis the crime.

 

AI tools have immense potential to prevent Modern Slavery. Machines Learning techniques  can help to screen possible abuses, threats, hazard activities in a working environment at low cost with minimum time consuming surveys.

Effective AI tools can access to clean and reliable data sources which might be a challenging topic in certain context as there are many global conversations hovering about the “AI & it threats to Privacy”.

Due to the inter company policies and security concern of company data, stakeholders reluctant to adapt with advance technologies. Hence security and privacy must be carefully considered and addressed when handling highly sensitive data that can expose vulnerable communities to further harm and exploitation.

The AI community should also find solutions within itself to consider ways of data privacy and security, as it needs to build a solid infrastructure that protects privacy.

AI is a tool that can facilitate efforts to combat modern slavery, but it is not the only panacea as it requires significant advance groundworks to output effective results.


 Can AI be the savior of Modern Slavery?....









References.

(1) Anti –Slavery International (2023), ‘What is modern Slavery?’. Available at https://www.antislavery.org/slavery-today/modern-slavery/ (Accessed : 03 August 2023).

(2). Bales,K. Hesketh, O. Silverman, B. (2015) Modern slavery in the UK: How many victims?, Significance, Vol 12, Issue 3 , p.17, Available at https://rss.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1740-9713.2015.00824.x. (Accessed: 27 July 2023).

(3). Derby and Derbyshire, Safe guarding Children Partnership Procedures Manual.’ Investigating Complex (Organized or Multiple) Abuse. Available at https://derbyshirescbs.proceduresonline.com/p_invest_complex_abuse.html. (Accessed: 03 August 2023).

(4) Hopkins, G (January 2023), ‘ How Can AI Combat Modern-Day Slavery?’, aiTechPark. Available at https://ai-techpark.com/how-can-ai-combat-modern-day-slavery/ (Accessed: 03 August 2023).

(5) Hope for Justice, ‘What is modern slavery?’ Available at https://hopeforjustice.org/modern-slavery/ (Accessed : 03 August 2023).

(6). International Labor Organization (ILO), Walk Free, and International Organization for Migration (IOM) 2022. Global Estimates of Modern Slavery; Forced Labour and Forced Marriage (September 2022), Geneva, 2022. Available at https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_855019/lang--en/index.htm. (Accessed: 27 July 2023).

(7). Landman T. Silverman, B W. (2019). ‘Globalization and Modern Slavery’. Politics and Governance (ISSN: 2183–2463) 2019, Volume 7, Issue 4, Pages 275–290 DOI: 10.17645/pag.v7i4.2233 Available at https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/2233/2233. (Accessed:  27 July 2023).

(8). Obama, B. Speech at the “Together We Thrive: Tucson and America” Memorial, delivered 12 January 2011, McKale Memorial Center, University of Arizona, Tucson. Available at http://www.azquotes.com/author/11023-Barack_Obama (Accessed: 01 August 2023).

(9). Tambe, P. Dr.Tambay, P. Published in: 2020 IEEE / ITU International Conference on Artificial Intelligence for Good (AI4G), Date of Conference: 21-25 September 2020, Publisher: IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Conference Location: Geneva, Switzerland, Available at https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9311031/authors#authors. (Accessed:  27 July 2023).

(10) Images and Videos. 

Clip 1:BBC News (2018) “My Life as a modern day slave’ – BBC News. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59KGc6UyjAw (Accessed: 04 August 2023).

Clip 2: UNSW eLaerning  (2021), ‘Modern slavery - Animation’. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGww2ufkPdM (Accessed: 04 August 2023)

Fig 1: Menno van Dijk/ istock. Wadia, K. (2016)‘Artificial Intelligence: I Think, Therefore AI’. Available at https://www.hrzone.com/lead/future/artificial-intelligence-i-think-therefore-ai (Accessed: 01 July 2023).

Fig. 2: Saga, A B. Morocco World News (2019). ‘Report: 85,000 people live in modern slavery in Morocco. Available at https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/03/267168/report-modern-slavery-morocco (Accessed: 04 August 2023).

Fig 3,4 : International Labor Organization (ILO), Walk Free, and International Organization for Migration (IOM) 2022. Global Estimates of Modern Slavery; Forced Labour and Forced Marriage (September 2022), Geneva, 2022. Available at  https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_855019/lang--en/index.htmm. (Accessed:  27 July 2023).

Comments

  1. LilanAugust 6, 2023 at 4:27 AM

    This blog is very useful for modern era. Amazing write-up. Well Done Rinosh !!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. SugandiAugust 6, 2023 at 4:58 PM

    Hay Rinosh,
    This is really awesome blog. Your plan is very perfect and this is very important and everyone should updated topic. your blog flow is really interesting. Enchasing points are very important. good job rinosh.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Shanitha Dinush ChandimaAugust 8, 2023 at 4:50 PM

    This enlightening article underscores AI's transformative potential in combatting modern slavery. By enhancing detection, prevention, and victim support, AI emerges as a promising savior in eradicating this grave societal issue, renewing hope for a more just and humane world.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mohamed ShakerAugust 11, 2023 at 8:09 AM

    AI can help the analysis process more accurate than ever, allowing organizations to make more important decisions faster and accurately. AI should not be seen as a replacement for human capital. It should be used as a tool to support the processes.

    ReplyDelete
  5. B. Abeywardana (MBA/HND Supply chain)August 13, 2023 at 9:50 AM

    Slavery is not good feel, AI compromised to prevent it certain extent, this arical has explained it well. Goo

    ReplyDelete
  6. Muditha MaheshAugust 13, 2023 at 9:56 AM

    AI has the potential to be a powerful tool in the fight against modern slavery. By carefully addressing the potential risks, AI can be used to make a real difference in the lives of victims of modern slavery.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Duminda Saman KumaraAugust 13, 2023 at 10:04 AM

    You have well explained the need of immediate and effective measures to eradicate modern slavery and end child labour . Well done... Rinosh...

    ReplyDelete
  8. S . M Gayan Thusitha KumaraAugust 16, 2023 at 4:43 PM

    It effectively underscores the potential of AI in combating this issue through due diligence, vetting, and investigations, while emphasizing the need for privacy and ethical considerations.

    ReplyDelete
  9. RANGIKA RANASINGHEAugust 17, 2023 at 8:10 AM

    wow, an amazing blog Rinosh,,,,, it means sought on a legislative response to modern slavery and worker exploitation, forced labour, people trafficking and slavery.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Rajitha MadhusankaAugust 17, 2023 at 6:01 PM

    Many of us might not realize it, but we're actually going through modern slavery unknowingly.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Harsha AthapattuAugust 19, 2023 at 8:30 AM

    AI is a tool that can aid attempts to eliminate contemporary slavery, but it is not the only solution because it necessitates extensive pre-processing to provide meaningful results.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Charuka RupasingheAugust 19, 2023 at 1:44 PM

    AI has the potential to combat modern slavery by improving monitoring, detection, and enforcement efforts, aiding in identifying victims and perpetrators, and facilitating collaboration among organizations and governments.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Ayodhya GalappaththiAugust 22, 2023 at 8:42 AM

    AI can effectively combat modern slavery by detecting and preventing it, but it must be used responsibly, ensuring ethics, privacy, and transparency.

    ReplyDelete

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